Effect of dietary Jatropha curcas seed meal on rabbits infested by adult ticks of Hyalomma marginatum marginatum

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the oral administration of Jatropha curcas seed meal (JCSM) on serum biochemical parameters and histopathology of skin, liver, and kidney of rabbits experimentally infested by Hyalomma marginatum marginatum. Thirty healthy mixed-breed rabbits were randomly divided into five equal groups. The first group was kept as a control and fed soya bean meal. The remaining groups were fed diets containing 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, or 10% JCSM. At the sixth week, each group was divided into two subgroups. Ticks were introduced to all members of one subgroup, the other subgroup being kept as control. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for biochemical parameters before (zero time) and after the treatment, on the 6th and 8th weeks. Histopathological studies were conducted 8 weeks after the treatment. The results revealed that JCSM could be used in the treatment of ectoparasites at levels of less than 10% in the diet without any serious effects on liver and kidney functions.     

Methane and algal production from poultry waste and its public health aspects

The results of this study indicate that the optimum solids concentrations for anaerobic digestion of poultry waste was 8% at incubation temperatures of 22 and 37 °C. Changes in the temperature of the digestion affected the total volume of biogas produced, its rate of production, and the time required for the digestion. Algal production on the digested effluent was a successful process, producing high biomass content. The bacteriological quality of raw and digested waste, as well waste during algal culture, reflects the possible health risks which may occur with the use of anaerobically digested sludge with or without treatment.     

Three Egyptian industrial wastewater management programmes

A pre-treatment programme for wastewater from factories, representing three main industrial sectors in Egypt, has been developed. The first case study was a factory producing potato-chips. Wastewater discharged from this factory was characterized by high values of BOD, SS and oil and grease (6000 mgO₂ l^–1, 6577 mg l^–1 and 119 mg l^–1 respectively). Chemical treatment using lime and lime aided by polyelectrolyte achieved good results. Residual values of BOD and SS after treatment were 97 mg l^–1 and 49 mg l^–1, respectively. Oil and grease concentrations were reduced by 91 percent. Treatment via activated sludge at a detention time of 4 hrs produced good quality effluent. The second case study was an automobile company, representing the metal finishing industry. Analyses of wastewater samples from the degreasing, phosphating and painting departments, as well as the end-of-pipe effluent were conducted. The end-of-pipe effluent contained high concentrations of oil and grease (366 mg l^–1), phosphorous (111 mg l^–1) and zinc (81 mg l^–1). Chemical treatment of end-of-pipe wastewater using ferric chloride aided by lime, produced high quality effluent. The third sector was the chemical industry. For this purpose a paint factory was selected. Characteristics of raw wastewater varied widely according to the production rate. Average values of COD and BOD were 1950 mg l^–1 and 683 mg l^–1. Oil and grease ranged from 63 to 1624 mg l^–1. Chemical treatment using ferric chloride in combination with lime at the optimum operating conditions achieved good results. Residual values after treatment of COD, BOD and oil and grease reached 120, 36 and 8.6 mg l^–1, respectively. An engineering design for each case study has been prepared.     

Flavour Industry Wastewater Management Case Study

Summary This study is carried out to propose an appropriate treatment technology for wastewater discharged from a flavor production factory. Industrial wastewater discharged from this factory ranges between 50–70 m³/d with an average value of 60 m³/d. The major source of pollution in this factory is due to cleaning of the vessels therefore the treatment has been carried out on the end-of pipe wastewater. The wastewater is characterized by high values of COD, BOD, TSS and Oil and grease 4646, 2298, 1790 and 626 mg/l respectively. Primary sedimentation of the wastewater for four hours reduced the COD, BOD, TSS and Oil and grease by 43, 47, 80 and 74%, respectively. For the treatment of the produced wastewater, the biological treatment process such as activated sludge, rotating biological contactor (RBC), up-flow anaerobic sludge bed reactor (UASB) have been selected. The results from each treatment process proved to be efficient for the treatment of such wastewater. The treated wastewater characteristics are in compliance with the Egyptian law which regulates the discharge of industrial wastewater to the sewerage system. The RBC was selected and installed by the factory as it has the advantage of low operating and maintenance costs. The factory RBC performance was monitored; characteristics of the treated effluent in terms of oil and grease, COD, BOD and TSS were 27, 362, 139 and 95 mg/l, respectively.     

Synergy or substitution? The interactive effects of insiders' fairness and support and organizational socialization tactics on newcomer role clarity and social integration

Drawing on fairness heuristics theory (Lind, 2001) and cue consistency theory (Maheswaran & Chaiken, 1991; Slovic, 1966), we test a moderated mediation model that examines whether the institutionalization of organizational socialization tactics enhances or constrains the beneficial effects of supervisory and coworker‐referenced justice and support on newcomer role clarity and social integration. The findings of a three‐wave study of 219 French newcomers show that although institutionalized tactics strengthen the positive indirect effects of supervisory interpersonal and informational justice on role clarity, via perceived supervisor support, it also acts as a substitute that weakens the positive indirect effect of coworker‐referenced interpersonal justice on social integration, via perceived coworker support. Implications of the findings for socialization research and practice are discussed.     

An assessment of the concentrations of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aftermath of a chemical store fire incident

PM10 airborne particles and soot deposit collected after a fire incident at a chemical store were analyzed in order to determine the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs). The samples were extracted with 1 : 1 hexane-dichloromethane by ultrasonic agitation. The extracts were then subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometric(GC-MS) analysis. The total PAHs concentrations in airborne particles and soot deposit were found to be 3.27 1.55 ng/m^3 and 12.81 24.37 μg/g, respectively. Based on the molecular distributions of PAHs and the interpretation of their diagnostic ratios such as PHEN/(PHEN ANTH), FLT/(FLT PYR) and BeP/(BeP BaP), PAHs in both airborne particles and soot deposit may be inferred to be from the same source. The difference in the value of IP/(IP BgP) for these samples indicated that benzo[ g, h, i] perylene and coronene tend to be attached to finer particles and reside in the air for longer periods. Comparison between the molecular distributions of PAHs and their diagnostic ratios observed in the current study with those reported for urban atmospheric and roadside soil particles revealed that they are of different sources.     

Fenton treatment of olive oil mill wastewater--applicability of the method and parameters effects on the degradation process

The low biodegradability of polyphenolic compounds typically found in olive processing indicated that biological treatment is not always successful in the treatment of olive oil mill wastewater in term of COD removal. In this study the results of investigations on the applicability of Fenton‘s reagent in the treatment of this effluent were discussed. The efficiency of this method was determined. 86% of removal COD was obtained using 5 mol H2O2 and 0.4 mol Fe^2 per liter of crude OMW. The main parameters that govem the complex reactive system, i.e., time, pH, [H2O2] and [Fe(ll)] were studied.     

Investigation on the effect of impact location height on pedestrian safety using a legform impactor dynamic model

Because of rapid increase in the urban population and hence road traffic, the vehicle–pedestrian crashes are more frequent and have become a major concern in road traffic safety. Though the bumper of a vehicle plays an important role to protect the vehicle body damage in low speed impacts, many bumpers particularly in larger vehicles are too stiff for pedestrian protection and safety. To prevent lower extremity injuries in car–pedestrian collisions, it is important to determine the loadings that car front structures impart on the lower extremities and the mechanisms by which injuries are caused. In the present work, a dynamic legform impactor model is introduced and validated against EEVC/WG17 criteria. The collision mechanism between a GMT bumper and the legform impactor model is investigated numerically using LS-DYNA software. The effect of the height of the impact point of bumper assembly to lower extremity injuries is also investigated. In this paper, it is shown that changing the local stiffness of bumper assembly due to the change in the height of the bumper and distribution of stiffness from upper parts of the bumper assembly to lower parts are the most important parameters in the pedestrian’s leg injuries. As lower extremity injuries are related to the lower bumper height, developing special legform impactors for different countries with different average person height seems essential in investigating the effect of people’s height on lower extremity injuries.     

Dissolved organic carbon concentrations and fluxes in forest catchments and streams: DOC-3 model

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in south-western Nova Scotia streams, sampled at weekly to biweekly intervals, varied across streams from about 3 to 40 mg L⁻¹, being highest mid-summer to fall, and lowest during winter to spring. A 3-parameter model (DOC-3) was proposed to project daily stream DOC concentrations and fluxes from modelled estimates for daily soil temperature and moisture, year-round, and in relation to basin size and wetness. The parameters of this model refer to (i) a basin-specific DOC release parameter “k_DOC^”, related to the wet- and open-water area percentages per basin, (ii) the lag time “τ” between DOC production and subsequent stream DOC emergence, related to the catchment area above the stream sampling location; and (iii) the activation energy “Ea”, to deal with the temperature effect on DOC production. This model was calibrated with the 1988-2006 DOC concentration data from three streams (Pine Marten, Moosepit Brook, and the Mersey River sampled at or near Kejimkujik National Park, or KNP), and was used to interpret the biweekly 1999-2003 DOC concentrations data (stream, ground and lake water, soil lysimeters) of the Pockwock-Bowater Watershed Project near Halifax, Nova Scotia. The data and the model revealed that the DOC concentrations within the streams were not correlated to the DOC concentrations within the soil- and groundwater, but were predictable based on (i) the hydrologically inferred weather-induced changes in soil moisture and temperature next to each stream, and (ii) the topographically inferred basin area and wet- and open-water area percentages associated with each stream (R² = 0.53; RMSE = 3.5 mg L⁻¹). Model-predicted fluxes accounted 74% of the hydrometrically determined DOC exports at KNP.     

Dissolved trace-metal concentrations along the Mediterranean Sea, to the north of the Nile Delta Region, Egypt

This work focuses on four marine sites of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Nile Delta, Egypt. Surface-water samples were collected seasonally during 2003. The aim of this study is to assess the levels of some dissolved trace metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Pb) in two environmental conditions. The metal concentrations in the coastal zone were in the following ranges: 11.92-30.45 μg l^-1 for Fe, 5.79-17.36 μg l^-1 for Mn, 0.87-7.80 μg l^-1 for Zn, 0.40-1.87 μg l^-1 for Cu, and 1.53-10.31 μg l^-1 for Pb. In the sites with continental water input (mixing zone), the metals were scattered in the following ranges: Fe (19.72-60.33 μg l^-1), Mn (12.63-35.60 μg l^-1), Zn (2.67-22.00), Cu (0.83-8.10 μg l^-1), and Pb (1.72-29.7 μg l^-1). The results for the metal concentrations showed a remarkable decrease in the levels of the different metals going from the estuaries and outlets into the coastal sea water. Generally, the levels of the metals in the two zones are higher than the background levels of the unpolluted area. A comparison of the trace-metal levels in the coastal zone of the Mediterranean Sea north of Nile Delta with the minimal risk concentration (reported by water-quality criteria, WQC) showed a significantly lower content at the coastal area of the Mediterranean sea of Egypt. The study also indicated that the impact of anthropogenic inputs was limited in the distribution of the metals, except that the Pb content was slightly higher in the area of the mixing zone than that reported for WQC. The relationships between the different trace-metal concentrations and the other parameters (salinity, chlorophyll a and suspended particulate matter) were discussed, and the simple regressions between them were evaluated.